ON-FARM
EXPERIMENT
Ryder
Farm, Brewster, NY, is beginning a 5-year experiment to evaluate
organic growing of row crops in permanent beds separated by
permanent sod strips on farm fields of indefinite acreage.
The experiment also includes an on-farm composting facility.
Objectives of this experiment include:
Very effective control of soil erosion
Drastic reduction of soil cultivation
Very effective weed control
Elimination of sheet plastic mulches
Virtual elimination of growing bed soil compaction, except
vertically in the sod-bed interface
Enhancement of crop resistance to drought
Promotion of direct seeding over transplanting
Economical use of cover crops and living mulches
Testing sod strips for trafficability and minimum maintenance
Enhancing record keeping of precise crop and soil histories
Testing effective means of minimizing sod-crop interactions
Finding effective, practical means of formulating and making
on-farm, low-weed-content compost.
Evaluating the effectiveness of various farm tractors and
field/composting implements.
Stimulating investigations of improved organic farming methods
in the 21st Century
A variety
of tractors and implements, many already at Ryder Farm, are
being used in this experiment. These include:
TRACTORS
Two 40
hp diesel tractors, one with a front-end loader, and a drastically
modified Tuff-bilt with an l8 hp gasoline engine, are the
prime movers. This unique Tuff-bilt is the key item of equipment
for the experiment. It has front and rear three-point hitches,
Category 0, and a hydrostatic power drive.
Modifications of the Tuff-bilt enable it to carry large implements
in its "belly", with excellent visibility by the
operator. All three tractors, like all wheeled implements
in this experiment, have a 60" wheel span. Incidentally,
this 60" dimension dictates the 40" growing bed
and 20" sod strip widths.
IMPLEMENTS
1.
Coulter Bar. This unique item consists of a tool bar
and four precisely spaced 12" disc coulters clamped to
the Category 0 rigged bar. It will be used to lay out the
bed-sod configuration in the field and, periodically, to maintain
the precise dimensions of those features. It fits in the belly
of the Tuff-bilt.
2.
Seeding Bar. This consists of a specially rigged tool
bar supporting three Planet Junior seeders, spaced 11"
apart, plus two coulters that are spaced to ride in the bed-sod
interface cleavage. It is designed to fit into the belly of
the Tuff-bilt.
3.
Buddingh Basket Wheel Cultivators. Three such shallow
action assemblies are the prime cultivators, one each for
the one- two- or three-row configurations of the 11"
spacing of such rows. They are designed to fit into the Tuff-bilt
belly.
4.
Manure Spreader. As in past years at Ryder Farm, this
will be used to straddle growing beds so as to dump compost
on the beds.
5.
Drop Seeder. This is a towed, two-wheeled seeder that
is capable of dropping a wide range of seeds onto the growing
beds.
6.
Grass Seeder. This is a standard, "off-the-shelf",
walk behind, 5.6 hp grass seeder that cuts 10 shallow furrows,
2" apart, in an 18" swath, and drops grass seeds
into the furrows. It will be used to establish and periodically
re-seed the sod strips with appropriate grass seed mixtures.
7.
Lawnmower. This is a conventional walk behind rotary
mower that cuts a swath of approximately 20". It has
been on hand for several years.
8.
Chisel Plow. This long used 5-tine implement may be used
on growing beds in the early phases of the experiment, but--hopefully--can
soon be phased out as the soil responds to relief from compaction
and some judicious applications of compost.
9.
Rotovator. This long-held and over-used implement is
a Howard HR50. By removing the two outer tines, it is expected
to cultivate a 40" swath. It is hoped that, in time,
it can be relegated to such specialized tasks as incorporating
cover crop residues and remnant mulch dressings into growing
beds.
10.
Sicklebar Mower. This is a traditional tractor-operated
mower, long used for haying at Ryder Farm. When necessary,
it will be used to mow cover crops or other standing vegetation
in the fields.
11.
Handtools. A variety of hoes, rakes and other small tools
will be used on the growing beds by workers standing on the
sod strips.
The thrust
of the USDA in this experiment is to enhance soil erosion
control. Beyond this laudable objective, Ryder Farm will explore
ways to enhance organic methods, such as discouraging soil
compaction by wheeled vehicles and farm workers.
USDA funding
of the experiment was both unexpected and greatly appreciated.
It is likely, though, that USDA monies will be restricted
largely to the composting side of the experiment, leaving
the larger costs of equipment purchases to be borne alone
by Ryder Farm.
Readers
of the foregoing account of Ryder Farm's sod strip experiment
are invited to forward any comments and questions to:
Hall Gibson
at Ryder Farm
404 Starr Ridge Road
Brewster, NY 10509-4705
Phone (845)279-3984
Fax (845)278-4575
e-mail: hallgibson@prodigy.net |
